AssetTrader Buying Guide to Dump Trucks

Introduction

A dump truck (or product truck) is characterised by its hydraulically operated box shaped bed whose front lifts up by pivoting at the rear.

In the UK the term Dump Truck typically refers to an Off-road vehical only with the road version known as a tipper.

There are number of different configurations of dump trucks, the main ones are outlined below:
Standard Dump Trucks: This model is complete truck chassis with a box body attached to the main frame. This body is raised by a hydraulic piston positioned at the front end of the frame between the body and the cab. The tailgate either swings down, or can be lifted up and over the box body. The standard dump truck has one front axle and one or more rear axles. The shorter wheelbase of this type of truck makes it more flexible in tight spaces, especially when compared to the larger volume semi-trailer dump trucks.
Articulated Dump Trucks: The Articulated model is distinct from the Standard in that there is a hinge joint between the box body and the cab, however the cab is still a permanent feature and cannot be dettached. They are often called the modern scraper.
Transfer Dump Trucks: Effectively this is a standard dump truck with an additional separate trailer. The main benefit if this arrangement is that one can retain the flexibility of the stanard dump truck with a significantly increased payload.
Truck and Pup: Similar configuration to the Transfer Dump Truck, however the second trailer also has its own hydraulic ram and can unload itself. Super Dump Truck:This is a dump truck equipped with a Strong Arm trailing axle.
Semi Trailer End Dump Truck: Here the typical tractor-trailer combination has a 3-axle tractor pulling a 2-axle trailer with a clam shell dump gate in the trailer bottom.
Double and Triple Trailer Bottom Dump Trucks: These configurations consist of 2-axle tractors pulling one single axle semi trailer and an additional full traler. The main issue lies in backing these double and triple units in reverse.
Side Dump Trucks: Similar to the Semi Trailer Bottom Dump Truck, however there is a hydraulic ram that tilts the body to its side to unload. This allows rapid unloading.